Take Initiatives

“Good leader create a vision,

Articulate the vision,

Passionately own the vision, and

Drive it to the completion.”

– Jack Welch

He wanted to become a leader in the local search destination. So, Building on his experiences as salesman in a yellow page company, United database India (UDI) and his failed startup “AskMe”, V.S.S. Mani launched his company with a catchy name and an easy to remember unique phone number. To become popular among masses, he focused on the diverse local businesses which people used to search generally like painters, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, mobile shops, and many such other essential services. This bold initiative gained advantage as an early mover and thus “Just Dial” became household name very soon. The company which was started with just Rs.50000 and 5 employees now has more than 12000 employees and Rs.10000 crore revenue. Successful people almost always succeed because they have the courage of taking bold initiatives and looking at a bigger picture in mind. They are not affected by immediate gains or losses as their focus is always on doing their best in any situation. They believe that success is a result of hard work and patience.

Successful leaders don’t like to be chained themselves with monotonous routines and schedules. They prefer to come forward, take initiative, and perform in most creative way. They become pioneers, adventure into the unknown, and always willing to venture into uncharted territories. Dropping out of college where millions dream to study and changing the way the world works, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook have proved the power of taking bold initiative.

Almost anything new that you start may seem insignificant in the short run, but it is very important that you believe yourself and do it passionately. It is this practice of doing innovative things that can bring amazing results. To be successful, take initiatives and enjoy your work thoroughly. You would like to take the credit for success. But, be equally prepared to accept the blame for failure. You need to learn from successful leaders and always give your best. Keep marching with a firm belief that you will be successful and let the law of attraction work for you.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Success is a matter of attitude. It is a matter of what you are capable of. It is a matter of futuristic thinking, planning, and implementing. Right attitude made Henry Ford a pioneer in the automobile industry. If he would have stopped after the first attempt when he became bankrupt or second attempt when he failed again, he would not have been able to revolutionize the world with success in his third attempt.  

REMEMBER The capacity is a state of mind. How much you can do depends on how much you think you can do. When you truly believe you can do more, your mind thinks creatively and show you the right way to do. Your success is always a combination of what you do better and does more of what you do. A good leader never turns down what looks like an opportunity. He goes one step further and inspire others to do their best because the true value of a leader is not measured by the work they do, but by the work, they inspire others to do.

Take bold step to invest in continuous growth to become an effective leader. One of the most influential philosophers and social reformers of contemporary India, Swami Vivekananda used to say “the greatest sin is to think of you as weak”. He introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world and amazed the entire world with his knowledge, wisdom, strength, and leadership.

HABIT Develop good habits that can play powerful role in changing your destiny and uplifting your life experiences. One of the most important habits that can positively transform you is the development the ownership mindset and getting rid of the victimhood mindset. These mindsets are applicable to all the areas of life; not just   in work and relationships. A person with owner mindset take initiative and move ahead, whereas a person with victim mindset believes that when I get certain condition, only then I can be a happy. Do not forget, it is about the journey not the destination. If you wait for the destination, you will miss out all the joy, learning, growth, and experiences that you can achieve in the journey.

BEWARE Do not follow most people who get disheartened and quit midway without putting much effort. This is the reason successful people are only a few. Get yourself motivated by the vision you have. Nothing stands as a bigger challenge than making the most of you. Instead of choosing an easy path of complaining and criticize, go all out to take massive action to improve yourself.

To successfully complete your initiatives, it can be highly beneficial if you follow the practice of “begin with the end in mind”. This practice is based on the principle that all things are created twice. You first create in your mind (and paper) and second, physically. Let us consider the example of the construction of your house. With the help of an architect, you first create everything on the paper. You work with him to create a clear image of what you want and where you want everything. You make a specific plan before even a brick is laid. Similarly, when you establish a business, you clearly define what you are going to accomplish, and which product or service you are going to provide in response to market demand. Then, you manage all the other elements like infrastructure, human resources, research & development, operations, marketing, logistics and so on to meet your objectives. The extents to which you begin with the end in mind almost always determine whether or not you will be able to achieve your goals or not.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

– William James

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